Silo-brace



B. GIBSUN. AND A. FULLER.

SIL()` BRACE. unicum man m1111127, 1919.

Patented May 11,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

B. GIBSON-AND A. FULLER.

v suo BRAcE. LPPLCATIQN FILED MAR. 2l, LQAQ.

Patented May 11 BENJAMIN GIBSON 'AND ALSTYN FULLER, OF HILL CITY, KANSAS.

SILO-BRACE.

Specification of Letters-Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Application filed March 27, 1919. sel-iai No. 285,532.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known thatwe, BnNJMrN GIBSON and ALsrYN F ULLER, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Hill City, in the county of Graham and State of Kansas, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Silo-Braces, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The invention relates to inside braces for silos and has for its object to provide4 a brace of this character, wherein it will be possible to easily place the same withinthe silo, then expand the segmental parts of the brace so that the segments will bind against the interior circumference of the silo, thereby bracing the staves of the silo and preventing warping and twisting of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a silo brace formed from a series of segmental sections adapted to engage the interior circumference of a silo, also to provide expanding means between the adjacent ends of the segmental sections whereby the sections as desired may be flexed outwardly to brace and prevent warping of the staves of the silo at any particular point.

A further object is to provide a brace formed from a series of segmental sections, each segmental section being formed from a series of layers of material, preferably wood and to provide expanding means between the adjacent ends of the segmental sections whereby the sections may be outwardly flexed for bracing the silo at various or all points. The forming of the brace in segmental sections allowing the easy handling of the brace, which is necessary for the reason that as the ensilage is used out of the silo, the brace is from time to time moved downwardly.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings, described. and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation of a conventional form of silo.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional `View through a silo showing the brace in position therein and ready to be expanded.

n Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the brace expanded into bracing position on the interior of the silo.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the segmental sections of the brace.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through theadjacent ends of the segments, showing the expandingl means.

Referring to the drawings the numeral l designates a conventional form of silo, which comprises the staves 2 and the eXterior bands 3, there being a roof 4; forming a cover for the silo. It has been found that silos of this type that are round in cross sections and formed from staves, become warped especially as ythe ensilage in the same reaches a low level, or when the silo is empty. It has also been found that in actual practice, very few if any silos are actually round in cross section, in fact in silos where the diameter is large the irregularities of the interior circumference is pronounced. Therefore the particular construction of the brace 5 from a series of segments 64 is with a view to provide a brace which will be capable of being expanded at various points, so that the segments may be forced to iiex outwardly in such a manner as to brace the staves 2 no matter how irregular the interior wall of the silo may be. It has also been found that to get the proper engagement of the segments with the wall of the silo, that it is necessary to use several segments, in large silos it is preferable to use fourlor live, however where the silo is very irregular more may be used to advantage.

Each segment 5 is formed from a series of strips 6, thereby increasing the iexibility of the segments. The ends of each segment is provided with channels 7` which are secured thereto by means of rivets 8, however the ends of the segments are preferably enlarged by means of the strips 9, which additionally brace the ends and at the same time allow the greatest iexing of the segments in the central body thereof.

The ends of the segments are provided with chambers 10 which register with apertures 11 in the channel plates 7 These chambers 10 are adapted to receive the ends of the threaded bolts 12 on which nuts 13 are threaded and which form means for engaging the ends of the segments, when it is desired to expand the brace as a whole, or to expand or flex a particular segment so as to provide an additional pressure at any vparticular point, which is necessary for instance where the silo is not a true circle, or where a stave is Warped, for instance as shown at 14 in Fig. 2. Y I

y The operation is as follows, when the ensilage in the silo is used to a certain level, the segments 5 forming the brace is placed therein as shown in Fig. 2, then the nuts 13 are rotated on the threaded bolts 12 and the segments forced into close engagement with the wall of the silo, however on account of the irregularities of the wall, it will be necessary to flex the segments differently to make them engage the surface of the wall, or force a warped stave into its proper shape.

As'the ensilage is used fromthe silo the brace is from time to time moved downwardly, however it is to be understood that any number of braces may be used and that when a silo is out of use that several braces may be placed therein for bracing and pre i venting the warping and twisting of the staves. y

JT ie invention having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is 1. A silo brace disposed on the inside of a silo and comprising a series of segmental sections, the ends of said sections being enlarged thereby increasing the central ilexibility of the sections, and means disposed .between the ends of the sections whereby the segments may be centrally bent and forced outwardly into close engagement with the inner wall of the silo.

2. A silo brace disposed on the inside of a silo and comprising a series of segmental sections, the ends of said sections boing enlarged thereby increasing the central flexi bility of the sections, and means disposed between the enlarged adjacent ends of the segmental sections whereby any Vof the sections may be flexed into close engagement sections, whereby any of the sections may be i flexedcentrally and pressure applied in various degrees to various parts of the interior wall of the silo.

4. A silo brace adapted to be disposed on n the inside of a silo and comprising a series of flexible segmental sections, each segmental section being formed from layers of flexible material so as to increase thel flexibility of the sections, the ends of the sections being enlarged so that the sections will have greater flexibility centrally, metallic reinforcing means carried by the enlarged ends of the segmental sections, apertures in the enlarged ends of the sections for the reception of bolts and nuts threaded on the bolts and forming means for engaging Vthe enlarged ends of the segmental sections whereby they will be forced apart and flexed centrally to various degrees so as to conform to the irregularities of the interior wall of the silo.

1n testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures. Y

BENJAMIN GIBSON. ALSTYN FULLER. 

